                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 February 7
   The featured image shows Comet ZTF with a long tail between two famous
   star asterisms: the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. The image depicts
    the Little Dipper near the top of the image, and the Big Dipper near
    the bottom. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                           A Comet and Two Dippers
   Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horalek / Institute of Physics in Opava

   Explanation: Can you still see the comet? Yes. Even as C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
   fades, there is still time to see it if you know where and when to
   look. Geometrically, Comet ZTF has passed its closest to both the Sun
   and the Earth and is now headed back to the outer Solar System. Its
   orbit around the Sun has it gliding across the northern sky all month,
   after passing near Polaris and both the Big and Little Dippers last
   month. Pictured, Comet ZTF was photographed between the two dippers in
   late January while sporting an ion tail that extended over 10 degrees.
   Now below naked-eye visibility, Comet ZTF can be found with binoculars
   or a small telescope and a good sky map. A good time to see the comet
   over the next week is after the Sun sets -- but before the Moon rises.
   The comet will move nearly in front of Mars in a few days

               Comet ZTF Gallery: Notable Submissions to APOD
                        Tomorrow's picture: wind star
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

